25 Questions for Mission.....

Mission--who retired last month--and his understudy
Mini Mish, now Mission II

What is their body of work?

Through Novack, Kill, Doeren and Carey, they were able to sustain success across many seasons.  Things were getting a little soft before Carey went to Temple.  Keeping success moving after numerous coaching changes is tough (paging Jason Candle) and they did really well.

After Carey, they brought Thomas Hammock in, who is now in his third year.  They threw an 0-6 bagel last year and were picked to be last in the West, by a lot.

Lo and behold, that has not happened. They won @Georgia Tech and they won @UT last week.  They are 4-2 on the year, with additional wins over Eastern and Maine and losses to Wyoming and UM.

The two teams have not met since 2017.  NIU has beaten BG in 7 out of the last 10 meetings, dating back to the Meyer years.  BG's three wins are GameDay and the two MAC Championship games.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

There are only 9, which is astounding.  This is a young team with 32 people on their 2-deep with freshman eligibility.  BG has 16.

Who are their statistical leaders? (Top 20 Nationally)

John Richardson is #17 in FG% and #7 in FG/game.

Harrison Waylee is #8 in rushing yards per game.

What is their turnover ratio? 

They are -3 so far.

Offense:

How is their QB play?

Their starter is Rocky Lombardi, who transferred from Michigan State, where he made 9 starts.  He's not having a great year.  He is 13th in the MAC in passing efficiency, behind McDonald.  He has 57% completions, 5 TD over 6 INT and 11.8 yards per completion, the only number of which is decent.  He is a dual threat-QB, #11 in the MAC in rushing even with sacks.  They are very run-focused.

What is their scoring and yards per play

They are 5th in the MAC in scoring and #7 in yards per play.

Can they run the ball?

They can.  This is a point of maximum exposure for BG.  NIU is #2 in the MAC in yards per carry and #3 in rushing attempts.  Probably the best player in the MAC you never heard of....Harrison Waylee.  He leads the MAC in yards per game, averaging 114.  He is only in his second year at NIU, playing last year and had a couple 100 yard games last year.

Do they pass the ball?

Not well.  They are last in the MAC in passing efficiency.  

How is their run/pass balance?

They run on 66% of their offensive plays.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

They are 8th, with 36%

Do they score in the red zone?

They are pretty good at 5.1 points per trip.  Only one empty red zone trip all season.

Do they protect the quarterback?

They do.  Sacks on only 2% of their passing attempts.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play

They are 11th in scoring defense and yards per play allowed.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are 10th, allowing 5.2 yards per rush.

Can they be passed on?

They are 7th in passing efficiency defense.  They allow 60% completions on 13.5 yards per completion, both of which are not great, plus 8 TD over 1 INT.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They are 8th, allowing 42% completions

Do they defend in the red zone?

They aren't great, allowing 5.4 points per trip.

Do they pressure the QB?

They are decent, with sacks on 5.7% of passing attempts.

Fair Catch

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are 6th in net punting.  No blocks, no return TDs.

Punt Return?

Middle of the pack in the MAC, 9 yards per return.  No blocks, no TDs.

Placekicking? 

He's good...11 of 12, 4 of 4 over 40, long of 47, no blocks

Kickoff? 

They are 9th, opponents start on the 26.  No TDs.

Kickoff Return?

They start on the 26.  No TDs.

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

Well, BG exceeded expectations for a while and then crashed back down to earth last week.  Meanwhile, NIU is exceeding expectations....maybe they crash down to earth.  The Huskies are 9-point favorites.  The matchup is tough.  BG will have to stop the run to have a chance to win, particularly on the QB option part of the run. NIU is not a great defensive team, but you'd think this would be something BG would not expect to be in a great position to capitalize on it.  So, on paper not a great matchup.  It will be interesting to see how BG rebounds from the Akron performance....will say a lot.